SURVIVAL OF BACILLUS-SUBTILIS AF-1 IN THE BACTERIZED PEANUT RHIZOSPHERE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON NATIVE MICROFLORA AND SEEDLING GROWTH

A mutant of Bacillus subtilis AF 1 (an antifungal strain with plant growth-promoting activity, resistant to 100 Icg streptomycin/ml) was isolated from pigeon pea rhizosphere and, when used in peanut bacterization, decreased fungal and bacterial numbers and increased the adinomycete population in the rhizosphere. Over 28 days, AF 1 declined by 0.9 log c.f.u. in sterilized soil and by 2.6 log c.f.u. in native soil. From the seedlings raised with peanut seeds bacterized with AF 1 at 6.5 log c.f.u./seed, 4.1 and 4.7 log c.f.u. of AF 1 were recovered from the rhizosphere and total underground parts, respectively. Bacterization with AF 1 had no significant growth-promoting or -inhibiting effect on the peanut.